Yoshi’s San Francisco has new owners, vows to stay the same

Yoshi’s San Francisco, the jazz club and Japanese restaurant that played a big part in reviving the city’s Fillmore district as a hub for live music, has been bought by a new ownership group called Fillmore Live Entertainment Group LLC.

The sale was announced by the club Tuesday.

Opened in 2007 as the sister club of the more established Yoshi’s at Jack London Square in Oakland, Yoshi’s San Francisco has struggled for several years as it tried to carve out a niche on Fillmore Street and compete with other venues for bookings and audiences.

Yoshi’s San Francisco wrestled with financial issues almost since the day it opened and ended up filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in 2012. At that time, outgoing co-owner Kaz Kajimura said one of the biggest challenges for the club was to find a way to repay a $7.2 million loan from the city’s redevelopment agency.

“He just couldn’t make it profitable,” said Lisa Bautista, director of marketing and communications for Yoshi’s San Francisco.

The new ownership group, which formed earlier this month under the direction of managing partner Michael Johnson, will take over July 1. It has enlisted Bob Burke of Ovation Consulting Restaurant + Hospitality to oversee operations, citing his experience with ventures such as Gordon Biersch, Piatti and Pat Kuleto Restaurants. The new owners are also bringing back Peter Williams, the former artistic director for Yoshi’s Oakland, to take over the booking.

With the city’s jazz scene becoming even more centered on SFJazz, which opened its own $63 million building in Hayes Valley last year, Yoshi’s San Francisco has been getting by with an eclectic schedule that leans heavily on nostalgia acts and cult singer-songwriters.

Yoshi’s was founded in 1972 in Berkeley by Yoshie Akiba, a World War II war orphan, and her friends Hiroyuki Hori and Kajimura. The club later moved to a larger space in Oakland and began to feature live music.

The club moved to Jack London Square in 1997, creating a new 330-seat venue attached to a 220-seat restaurant. That venue remains in the hands of its founders.

The terms of the sale were not disclosed, but Bautista said there are no immediate plans to change the club’s menu or music program.

“The other employees will have to be re-hired under the new company,” Bautista said. “Otherwise, business will continue as usual.”